


Crossing The Threshold

by Sistermine



Series: The Threshold [1]
Category: Eagle - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-28
Updated: 2012-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-31 21:13:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/348417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sistermine/pseuds/Sistermine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a parallel universe Esca and Marcus are trying to get back to Calleva before winter sets in, and decide to risk travelling through non-Roman lands occupied by the (totally made-up) Doken people, disguised as a man and woman.  </p><p>The locals are more helpful than they'd anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crossing The Threshold

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Inadvertent marriage, cross-dressing, complete lack of porn in this part.
> 
> Disclaimer: No profit made, nor harm intended to characters, author or anyone else.
> 
> Inspired by a photo of an [archway](http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj636/sistermine6/Eagle%20fanfic/th_riventhornsdoorway.jpg). See [Riventhorn's Ninth Eagle LJ Fanfic challenge](http://ninth-eagle.livejournal.com/124287.html) for details and [here](http://ninth-eagle.livejournal.com/127704.html) for the original posting of this fic in Autumn 2011.

 

“I could wear a woman's garb,” said Esca. “That will perhaps make it easier for them to accept us; a rationale for a Roman and a Briton to be travelling together through this terrain.”

“That would be hard for you to maintain.” Marcus frowned. “Though I can see that it could work – we would make a plausible couple. The other way round – well, I am far too tall and large for a woman.” They looked at each other, and both began to laugh at their contrasting shapes.

“It will only take two days by horse to pass through the hinterlands, and then we will be back in Roman territory. I should be able to maintain it for that length of time – especially if the weather is good enough for us to sleep in the open.”

“If we meet people, or need to stay in a village, it could be hard. Your beard will grow, and bathing and latrines will be complicated in any populated area. We know so little about the Doken.”

“Then we must try to stick to the open. It is worth trying – it cuts over a week from our journey, and every day we spend gets colder and more difficult.”

“If you are willing, and you think it is possible, well, I have no objection.”

*

The young man who had called them to a halt as it neared midday was staring up at Esca, and Marcus looked at him darkly, moving his horse nearer to his companion. They could have made a run for it – they could easily out-run a non-rider - but they still had at least a day and a half's fast riding in this territory. He noticed Esca had cast down his eyes, and inwardly admired him; he was sure it was costing Esca much to appear demure.

The man turned to Marcus with a smirk, and said “State your business coming through Doken lands without agreed passage.”

Marcus held himself proudly, and said, “We seek safe passage. We are heading for Roman lands away from the Brigantes, and claim the protection of the gods of lovers.”

The man laughed aloud, saying “Do you now? And what makes you think Doken gods will respect your foolish Roman or,” he glanced back at Esca, “Briton customs?”

“You are not uncivilised, we have heard. Surely you will help us?” Marcus sounded sure of himself rather than supplicating.

“From whom do you flee, lovely maid?” the man addressed Esca directly, walking between their horses, and Esca looked down at him. “From my people in the northlands,” he said, quietly, “who would kill my beloved for stealing my heart away.” Esca glanced at Marcus and then dropped his eyes again. Marcus was again impressed as their performance gathered details in the heat of the moment. He just hoped the young sentry was equally moved.

The young man was smiling. “Well,” he said, “we will have to show you our civilisation. I think we can help you, but I must take you to my village for the council to pronounce and give you tokens for your onward journey.” He took Esca's bridle and began to lead them into the valley, picking his way with the horse down to a narrow path. Esca looked round at Marcus following and they smiled a little grimly at each other, accepting this delay and hoping it meant a smoother journey ahead.

*

They were seated in a large hut, and the young man - who'd introduced himself as Arron - left them with his mother Haydar. She brought them a hot herb-flavoured drink and sat down with them, smiling and chatty, and patted Esca's knee.

He felt nervous as she looked in his eyes, but she smiled reassuringly. “You're a brave one, Escara,” she said. “You must love each other a lot.”

Esca nodded, then had to look down before he could answer in the face of her open gaze, “Yes, we do.” She nodded as he glanced up at her; she was obviously expecting the whole story. They would have to improvise, since they hadn’t agreed all these details - had never considered they’d need them. They had thought they’d either be allowed to pass through, or quickly rumbled and attacked. He took Marcus’s hand and pulled it into his lap. “We want to get to Marcus's family's land before the winter sets in, so that we can live in peace there.”

“And you, Marcus,” she smiled at him across Esca. “Are you ready to take on the responsibility of a wife, totally dependent on you away from her own lands?” Esca was taken aback by her directness and astuteness. He wondered how her children coped with having such a shrewd mother, and whether he and Marcus would survive her forthrightness.

Marcus was stuttering a reply, “Yes, yes. It is what we both want... We would not have chosen to travel so near winter, but … they were threatening Escara, to marry hi - her – to a local; a well connected man with good prospects. They rejected her choice of an outsider like me.”

Esca looked at Marcus, who looked convincingly earnest, and slightly clueless, like the blundering Roman he could sometimes be. Esca felt affection wash over him and smiled, encouragingly, squeezing Marcus’s hand. Marcus looked at him and carried on, “I can’t live without her, so I couldn’t let that happen.” Esca felt his chest tighten and his smile fell away as they looked at each other, serious for a few moments.

When Haydar laughed it made Esca jump, turning back towards her and letting Marcus go. She was nodding her head, and stood up, looking from one to the other. “I will tell the others my decision. I will ask our priest to marry you now; we will celebrate with you tonight as you cross through the archway to married life, and tomorrow I will give you my son as guard to take you on to our neighbours. They will accommodate you and see you safely to the borderland, and then,” she looked particularly at Esca, “you will be free Escara to move into your husband’s land." She paused. "Tell me this is what you both desire and I will see it done.”

Esca felt his eyes widen and he looked at Marcus. Marcus looked nervously back, and nodded at him. Esca turned to Haydar and nodded at her, “Yes. This is what we both desire.”

Haydar smiled broadly, and said, “Very well. Rest here and I will come back to prepare you.” She moved out of the doorway, and Esca and Marcus stared at each other.

Esca took a deep breath. “Shit,” he said. “What do we do now?”

Marcus shook his head. “We have little choice. We go along with it or flee, and I fear running would not get us far in this terrain, even with our horses.”

“She is terrifying,” said Esca standing up and pacing around. Marcus laughed tightly, “She is. A leader indeed. But I think we convinced her.”

“Now we just need to convince everyone else, and not give ourselves away in the next two days.”

Marcus laughed again. “As we cross the threshold to married life. I own I did not expect this to be our fate,” he smiled at Esca, adding, “You have the hardest part; are you able to continue in it?”

“I’m well … so long as they don’t go in for ritual bathing. Gods know what customs they’ll have for us." He took a breath. "I must be very modest if there is any hint of dressing or undressing; you must be my defender in this if it arises.”

Marcus was nodding to agree when Haydar and Arron came back in to the hut. Haydar spoke to them, “It is all prepared, and my people are agreed to help you. Now we must prepare you both by the ways of our gods. Marcus, will you go now with Arron and he will show you the rituals and take you to the sacred arch. I will take Escara myself and we will meet there for the ceremony. When you come back here you two will be wed.”

Marcus stood up and came over to Esca, embracing him, leaning in and whispering faintly, direct in his ear, “If anything should happen that you are not happy with, resist, and make a noisy fuss; I will listen out and come if I hear anything.” He pulled back and looked into Esca’s eyes. Esca nodded, and said, louder for their audience, “Go well, sweetheart, I will be fine here; we are being well looked after.” Marcus nodded again, looked about to clap him on the back, and then just squeezed his shoulders instead, impulsively leaning in and landing a small kiss on Esca’s lips.

When they had left the hut, Haydar turned to Esca and led him to sit down again, keeping hold of his hand and turning it over in her hands, to rub the callouses on his palm and fingers, and looking at him.

Esca froze. He tried to pull his hand away, heart pounding. “Calm,” she commanded. “I have no wish to hurt you. I am in truth fascinated by your story. But tell me now we are alone; why do you dress as a woman? Is it your own desire, your custom, or for your Roman?”

Esca was rigid with fear. He thought hard. How much deeper could this story take them? Perhaps she would uncover them down to their deepest roots. The prospect terrified him. He looked at her, helpless to answer, unable to think up another layer of plausible story. Then he realised that the truth in his heart might yet be the truth that would see them to safety; she hadn’t stopped them; she was sympathetic to their situation. Or at least to what she supposed was their situation.

“I dress as a woman to give us cover as we flee my lands. We could never live together there. I do not know if we can live together anywhere.” So far, it was all the truth.

She pressed his hand. “And you love him, with all your heart?”

Esca looked at her and felt the flush rise up his face at tellng his deepest secret. “I do.”

She smiled at him. “He clearly loves you too.”

As Esca opened his mouth to speak, he felt the tears rise unbidden as she looked at him gently. He simply didn’t know if that was true. Sometimes he thought it; catching a certain look or a tender gesture. Most times he thought Marcus’s feelings were just those of a friend in close quarters; the duties of a former owner for his freedman. The codes they both lived by did not seem to allow for this. As he blinked, a first tear ran down his face and she put a finger to it, wiping it away, and taking him in her arms as his breathing shuddered; stroking his back as he clung to her, lost in the emotion.

When finally it faded, she pulled back from him, and wiped his eyes with a soft cloth, passing it to him to blow his nose. She said, “You will be happy. I can tell, and I have never been wrong about my own children.” He smiled weakly at her, and wondered at his own state.

Haydar continued. “Would you marry him as a woman or as a man? Both are permitted here.”

Esca wondered at Marcus’s reaction if he turned up for the ceremony in men’s clothing whilst Marcus himself was still portraying their first pretence. But then he thought, dressing as a man for his wedding would be no more a pretence, and no less. Would Marcus be able to pretend to be in love with a man; enough to marry him?

Esca’s thoughts circled around, but he settled on his own feelings, the one true thing here.

If it was permitted here, it would be one less level of acting to keep up, and still leave sufficient reason to be fleeing fast away from his supposed lands and towards Rome's. The irony was that he would not have to pretend at all, and that he may have found the one place on the shores of this world where what he felt for Marcus was encouraged.

He answered her: “As a man then, if that is tolerated here.”

“Escara,” she said, “it is more than tolerated. You are two people choosing each other.”

“Esca.”

She looked at him quizzically.

“My name. It is Esca.”

“Well, Esca." She stood up. "Do you have other clothes in your packs? My boys will have taken them to the hut we have for you to sleep in, and we must hurry now to get you ready, for the sun is nearly down.”

She must have passed some signal, for soon the hut was full of people, coming and going, carrying food and passing small children from person to person as they moved about, clearly getting ready. She stayed by his side, reassuring him and making him drink more tisane - for wedding nerves, she laughed with him - and then taking him out into the dying light outside. They crossed a central space to another tiny hut. Inside was a hearth, glowing, casting a warm light on a large low bed covered with furs and woven cloth, and strewn with rose petals. She turned and smiled at him. “This is a special place - it would have been a surprise for you later, but you will have to have the surprise now and hurry to change your clothing. Do you need help?” She indicated where their packs had been piled on the ground, and Esca noticed a wide shelf with bread, a flask and cups, and various bowls and bottles.

"No." He shook his head and went towards his pack. “I just need a few minutes.”

“I will come back shortly.” She left the hut and let the door-flaps fall.

Esca sank onto the bed and wondered what Marcus was doing now, and what he would make of their situation in a few minutes. He wondered if Marcus too had been interrogated in their gentle fashion. Marcus would not want to imperil Esca, and would cling to their story with less reason to trust any changes. Esca hoped someone had been as kind with him.

But now he must get dressed.

*

Haydar had his hand again and was leading him down towards a ruin, picking their way carefully across old walls; the footing sometimes difficult despite the way being illuminated with torches at intervals.

“This was one of the old ones’ places.” She was telling him the history of their village and area. “No-one knows what happened to them, and their knowledge of building was lost until your Romans came. This is now our sacred place, and here we will marry you.”

They skirted a broken wall and went through a small doorway. The hall beyond was large, warmly lit and filled with people. He could feel the sudden hush as they entered. She led him through the throng, people nodding their respects to her, and then suddenly he was opposite Marcus, a large stone bowl on a plinth separating them, and Marcus was staring at him. He smiled back at Marcus, trying to both reassure him and gauge his feelings, and noticing that Marcus too had a wreath around his head, looking handsome in his uncertainty.

Haydar spoke to the people, welcoming them to the impromptu clebration of the rite of marriage, and telling their story, succinctly but movingly. Marcus looked surprised all the way through, but especially when he realised that they were being married as two men - Roman and Briton - in the eyes of everyone, and again when Haydar spoke of their deep love for each other. He held Esca’s eyes after that, and Esca couldn’t tell if he was catching on fast and acting his heart out, or if it was his heart that was on display. Marcus did indeed look like a man in love, gazing at Esca enraptured.

Haydar was handing over to an old man, who stepped forward and began to speak. He spoke of love and commitment, and the blessings of the gods, and then took one hand from each of them pulling them towards each other over the stone bowl. He turned first towards Marcus, and held his hand higher, asking him first his name. “Marcus Flavius Aquila,” he replied strongly, and Esca smiled at him. Then the old priest turned to Esca and asked his name. “Esca son of Cunoval,” he spoke out, feeling exhilaration flow through him as Marcus smiled back at him. The priest held Marcus’s hand high again and asked if he wished to make this commitment, be married to Esca, and promise to be true. Marcus swallowed, and said “Yes. I do so promise.” Then he held up Esca’s hand and asked the same. Esca could feel the tears again, threatening his composure, but he answered strongly, “Yes. I do so promise.”

The old man picked up something from the side of the bowl and broke it in two, giving a piece to Marcus and a piece to Esca. Esca looked at it as the priest spoke a short blessing, and then instructed them to eat the symbol of life. Esca put it in his mouth and chewed, watching Marcus do the same: it was a walnut, sweet yet bitter-edged. Then the priest picked up a goblet and passed it first to Marcus as he said, “Drink deep, the blessings of the gods be upon you and your joining.” Marcus raised the cup and swallowed, smiling as he handed the cup back. The cup was then given to Esca as the priest nodded at him, and he took a mouthful, the brew filling his tastebuds with honey.

The priest clasped their hands together in his own. He spoke a long blessing, and then dipped their hands down into cool water. He lifted their hands out and drew them both away from the font in front of him and over to a large stone arch in the wall; darkness and cool air beyond.

He said, “You are now wedded to each other, witnessed by the eyes of our gods in front of all. As seal, you must go through the sacred archway into your unknown future, guided only by each other. May you begin your married life in love and kindness.” He stepped back away from them, and Esca felt suddenly unsure, having no idea what they should do next and unable to see more than a few feet ahead.

Marcus gripped his hand and turned towards him. He was smiling confidently and he pulled Esca closer. Marcus embraced him, and again was whispering in his ear, “Allow me, I have been shown this part.” He pulled back a little, but then he moved in and kissed Esca, lingering on his mouth as Esca swayed, unstable, glad of Marcus’s arms around him.

As Marcus pulled away, eyes lowered, he was aware of a pleased murmuring in the hall, and then suddenly he was being lifted, and Marcus was bodily carrying him through the archway. He almost yelped clung to him instead, aware of Marcus's leg and the uneven ground, but Marcus felt secure and strong, and he could hear warm applause in the hall behind them.

Marcus put him down a few feet away, and held him again. “So far so good,” he said, “but you will have to tell me later how it came about that you were revealed as a man, and how that comes to be acceptable here. I nearly died of shock when I saw you in there.” He pulled back again, and touched the crown of leaves on Esca’s head.

Lights had begun to glow around them, and Esca looked about to find they were quickly being surrounded by people in a space set with tables, many covered in food. Someone began to sing and a drummer joined in, and very quickly the lawn they were standing on became a party. Esca leant back into Marcus, glad of his bulk and his easy acceptance, and wished deep inside that this feeling could be real.

“What do we do now?” he asked Marcus.

His question was answered as Haydar and Arron came towards them and led them to sit at a table piled with food. “Eat something,” said Haydar, laughing. “We will not keep you here long - Arron will guide you back to your hut, and we will celebrate in your honour. It has been a thin time recently, and there is much need for a celebration - you have provided us with a fine excuse to enjoy ourselves and to feel ourselves more civilised than the lands around us.” She winked at them and left them to eat, as Arron poured them cups of wine and toasted them, sitting down with them and encouraging them to eat. That seemed to be a cue: a steady stream of people came toward them, toasting them as they passed and wishing them well, adding blessings for their lives, their crops, and one or two for their children until they caught themselves and changed their blessings to their futures or their families.

People were dancing and singing as the stream of well-wishers slowed and Esca would have enjoyed it, but he couldn’t talk to Marcus with Arron next to them, and he was too nervous to eat much. Marcus seemed to feel the same, and mercifully Arron soon noticed, smiled, and said he would take them back now since they were full. He took a torch and led the way, music growing fainter behind them as he took them along a path through birch trees back up into the village,. He left them at the small hut saying he would be ready whenever they wanted to leave the next day, and then, teasing, that they should be sure to start before noon to be sure of a safe journey.

And then they were alone.


End file.
